North Dakota Law Enforcement arrested a 34-year-old woman 15 years after her former roommate was found stabbed to death in their home. CBS News reports that Nichole Rice, a team member of Minot Air Force Base as a civilian, was arrested without incident and is currently being held at Ward County Jail and has been charged with murder.
Anita Knutson, 18, was a student at Minot State University when she was found fatally stabbed in her apartment in 2007. Her murder went unsolved for almost two decades.
Police Chief John Klug called the arrest a relief during a press conference on Wednesday, stating that Knutson’s murder was one case they are finally glad had been solved.
“It was a relief,” Klug said. “It was good to know that finally, the one case that we’ve had hanging out there that we just could not get to a solution was finally over.”
Police Chief Klug also revealed that Rice was always a person of interest; however, they did not have enough evidence to arrest her until now.
“There was never enough to arrest her,” Klug said. “But I would say she was always a person of interest in this case.”
According to KX News, Knutson was found dead at 2420 4th St. NW, after her father called in for a wellness check, after not hearing from his daughter in a couple of days. An unusual occurrence for both the father and daughter.
BREAKING: An arrest has been made in the 15-year-old cold case murder of Anita Knutson. Nichole Rice is in custody and is believed to have been responsible for Knutson’s murder, Minot police said in a Wednesday evening press conference.https://t.co/nTixsydStB
— KX News (@KXMB) March 16, 2022
Anita’s father showed a sliced window screen in the yard — the screen to Anita’s bedroom window. Upon arrival, Police found Knutson dead in her bedroom, covered with an oversized housecoat.
Her murder would go unsolved until 2022.
Rice made her initial court appearance on Thursday in Ward County. Judge Richard Hagar ordered Rice to post a bond as cash of $120,000 or corporate at $250,000.
Prosecution in the case asked Rice to be held on a $1 million cash bond, comparable to the bonds of suspects in what they considered similar cases.
However, Rice’s lawyer requested a $250,000 bond with the option to post 10% down.
In an affidavit shared in court yesterday, Rice allegedly admitted to the murder while intoxicated at a party shortly after the murder took place. Rice reportedly confessed to her then-boyfriend William May, who she dated for a few months, either in 2008 or 2009.
May described Rice as being “belligerently drunk” and admitted to allegedly stabbing her roommate. According to the affidavit, he later tried to get Rice to talk about that again while sober, but she wouldn’t.
It took years for Police to identify who Rice confessed to, but in March 2022, the person was named May.
Rice’s preliminary hearing is set for April 21.
Rice was charged with one count of murder in the death of Knutson on or about June 2 and 3, 2007.
